Tag Archives: abraham

Here is the next entry in my series from the Old Testament Institute class that I’m teaching. These notes cover Genesis 12 – 23. I have decided not to include any pictures since I’m not sure of copyright issues with them.

To recap… I’m a Stake Institute Teacher. I teach a group of about a dozen YSA in my home on Wednesday evenings. It is a great calling! I decided I would post my notes for the classes. They are just that… notes. They are meant to help me direct the discussion and have references to pictures and quotes. I’ve included the quotes, but not the pictures.

Covenants

Enrichment section B has information about Covenants

In order to help His children become like Him, Father in Heaven admonishes them to observe certain gospel principles by means of covenants and ordinances. The entire gospel itself is referred to in scripture as “a new and an everlasting covenant” (D&C 22:1; see also 133:57). That overall covenant includes a series of other covenants that, if observed, will make man like his divine parents. Covenants, covenant making, and covenant keeping thus become the keys to exaltation, or the kind of life God enjoys.
A covenant is a mutual agreement between two or more persons whereby each contracting party agrees to abide by certain stipulations. Heavenly Father agrees to give to His children all that He enjoys, providing they will keep all of His commandments (see D&C 76:50–60). “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise” (D&C 82:10). Broken covenants have no eternal or lasting value. As Joseph Smith said, “It requires two parties to make a covenant, and those two parties must be agreed, or no covenant can be made” (Teachings, p. 14).

Refer to:

Deut 7: 9

2 Nephi 6: 12

Romans 9: 6

Genesis Chapter 12

v1
Abram told to leave the country
Abram probably received the Melchizedek Priesthood before leaving.
See Abraham 1: 2, 3: 1

v3

First reference to Abrahamic Covenant (I think)
“In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed”
Often references to covenant are that the nations will be blessed. I like the reference to families

v4

SHOW SLIDE 3 map of travels from student manual (pg 65)

v5
Lot is Abram’s nephew

v8
Went to a mountain (temple) and called upon the name of the Lord

v10-20
Story of Sarai saying that she is Abram’s sister
Did Pharaoh try to marry her?

REVIEW notes from manual about why this is or isn’t a lie

Why did Abram speak this way? The Lord told him to do it. See Abraham 2: 22-23
Similar to Nephi killing Laban, sometimes the Lord requires us to do things that might otherwise be wrong. The key is that it needs to be a message direct from the Lord

SHOW SLIDE 4 family tree from student manual pg 66

Genesis Chapter 13

v4
Returned to an altar he had used before

v6-7
Must have been a huge group travelling!!

v8-9

SHOW SLIDE 5 image of lot and Abraham splitting land

Let there be no strife
Abram was willing to do what it took to have no contention

v12
Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom

v18
Abram built another altar

Genesis Chapter 14

According to some things I read, there are several evidences to the age of these records

READ note from Amplified Bible
Some of the places being referenced were using the original names. Moses had to explain what they were to the audience he was writing to
14: 2 – Bela that is Zoar
14:3 Valley of Siddim which is the Salt Sea
14:4 En-mishpat which is Kadesh
14:15 Hobah which is north of Damascus
14:17 Valley oi Shaveh which is King’s Valley

v14
Not referring to his blood brother, but his brother in the gospel

v16
The brother translation could be relative or kinsmen
318 servants!

v18

SHOW SLIDE 6 picture of Abram with Melchizedek

Reference to Melchizedek

REVIEW notes from manual about Melchizedek possibly being Shem

v20
Abram paid tithing

Genesis Chapter 15

v1
The Lord was Abram’s shield
In the Armor of God scripture in Ephesians 6: 10-18, you have the shield of faith

v5
Abram has no children, but is promised he will have innumerable descendants

v6
And Abram believed him!
JST adds a vision where Abram sees the Lord and believes

v12
Abram has a vision and experiences great darkness like Joseph Smith

Genesis Chapter 16

v2-3
Abram takes Hagar as another wife

v5
Sarai upset about Hagai

SHOW SLIDE 7 artwork of Hagai leaving with Ishmael

v7-12
Angel tells Hagar to name son Ishmael
This is the first recorded instance in the Bible of someone being named before birth
See Gen 17: 19 – Isaac
1 Kings 13: 2 – Josiah
1 Chron 22: 9 – Solomon
Matt 1: 21 – Jesus
Luke 1: 13 – John
Ishmael is generally thought to be the father of the Arab people. According to tradition, the prophet Muhammad came through his son Kedar

Genesis Chapter 17

v1
The Lord visits Abram again

v2
A covenant is made again. Why so often?

v5
Name changes from Abram (high exalted father) to Abraham (father of a multitude)

v11
Is circumcision the covenant? It was a sign/token. It was stopped later. See Acts 15: 1, 24-29

v15
Sarai’s name becomes Sarah (princess)

v17
Even the Lord has a sense of humour?

v19
Isaac’s name means laughter

Genesis Chapter 18

v1-10

SHOW SLIDE 8 artwork of Abraham with 3 men/angels

Visit from 3 men
The first verse is a thought unto itself
The 3 men are generally considered to be angelic visitors. If they ate and cleaned themselves, they must have been resurrected. Others believe that it wasn’t possible for them to be resurrected, so they must have just been men

v14
Is anything too hard for the Lord?

v20-22
Two of the men/angels went to check on Sodom and Gomorrah

v23-32
The Lord would not destroy the city if 10 righteous people could be found
See Alma 10: 22 – the prayers of the righteous save the people

Genesis Chapter 19

v1
Other two men (angels?) arrive at Sodom

v5
The men of the city want to have sex with the men
Is this the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah? It was more than this. See Ezekiel 16: 49-50

v8
Lot willing to hand over daughters?!?! JST clarifies this

v14
Lot warns family of impending destruction but they don’t believe him

v15-16
Lot, wife, 2 daughters are saved

SHOW SLIDE 9 artwork of Lot and family leaving

v24-25
Sodom, Gomorrah, and other cities are destroyed

SHOW SLIDE 10 artwork of the destruction

v17, 26
They were not to look back
Lot’s wife lagged behind and looked back. According to the way the wording is and how it compares to other similar lines, some scholars believed she actually went back.
She may have been literally turned to a pillar of salt or it may have been figurative (the traditional spot is now where part of the Dead Sea is)
Her heart was not where it should have been. See Matthew 6: 20-21 or Luke 21:33-34
Refer to Luke 17: 31-33

v31-38
The remaining two daughters get father drunk on successive nights and had sex with him to preserve their race
Moab (of a father)
Ben-ammi (son of my people)

Genesis Chapter 20

v2
Abraham lies again

v11-12
Abraham explains why he lied

Genesis Chapter 21

v1-3
Isaac is born

v9
Sibling rivalry between Ismael (17) and Isaac (3)

v12-21
Ismael and Hagar leave
They almost die but are saved by the Lord

v17
“God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is”

Genesis Chapter 22

Story of Abraham going to sacrifice Isaac

SHOW SLIDE 11 artwork of the sacrifice

v2
Offer him as a burnt offering

v5
We will worship and come again
Did Abraham believe that another way would come, or was he prophesying?

v7
Where is the lamb?

v8
The statement was both faithful (referring to Isaac) and prophetic (referring to Jesus)

v9
No struggle with Isaac
One thing I read said he was around 25. He must have had great faith as well

v11-12
Angel stops the sacrifice

v18
Abrahamic Covenant
Who is the greatest of his seed? Christ. Refer to Galatians 3: 16

Here is the next entry in my series from the Old Testament Institute class that I’m teaching. These notes cover Genesis 3 – 11. I have decided not to include any pictures since I’m not sure of copyright issues with them.

To recap… I’m a Stake Institute Teacher. I teach a group of about a dozen YSA in my home on Wednesday evenings. It is a great calling! I decided I would post my notes for the classes. They are just that… notes. They are meant to help me direct the discussion and have references to pictures and quotes. I’ve included the quotes, but not the pictures.

Introduction

Before we start, highlight the Enrichment Section A of the student manual which explains who the God of the Old Testament is.

Genesis Chapter 3

SHOW picture of LEGO Adam and Eve

v1
Subtle – crafty

v4
Gods (plural)
Satan tells Adam and Eve that they will know Good from Evil – true
Satan tells Adam and Eve that they won’t die – lie
This is the way Satan works… mixes lies with truths to trick people – he’s crafty!

He had knowledge, of course. He could speak. He could converse. There were many things he could be taught and was taught; but under the conditions in which he was living at that time it was impossible for him to visualize or understand the power of good and evil. He did not know what pain was. He did not know what sorrow was; and a thousand other things that have come to us in this life that Adam did not know in the Garden of Eden and could not understand and would not have known had he remained there. That was his status before the fall.”

Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:107–8

Eyes will be open
What do eyes represent – seeing… understanding
Joseph Smith used this phrase in D&C 110: 1 when Jesus as well as other Heavenly visitors came

V6
SHOW stained glass window picture of Eve giving fruit to Adam
READ Elder Talmage quote about Adam and Even partaking of the fruit

“Eve was fulfilling the foreseen purposes of God by the part she took in the great drama of the fall; yet she did not partake of the forbidden fruit with that object in view, but with intent to act contrary to the divine command, being deceived by the sophistries of Satan, who also, for that matter, furthered the purposes of the Creator by tempting Eve; yet his design was to thwart the Lord’s plan. We are definitely told that ‘he knew not the mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world’ [Moses 4:6]. Yet his diabolical effort, far from being the initiatory step toward destruction, contributed to the plan of man’s eternal progression. Adam’s part in the great event was essentially different from that of his wife; he was not deceived; on the contrary he deliberately decided to do as Eve desired, that he might carry out the purposes of his Maker with respect to the race of men, whose first patriarch he was ordained to be.”

James E Talmage, Articles of Faith, pp. 69–70

How much times passed between v6 and v7?
How much times passed between v7 and v8?
I think this is the sort of thing where a lot of misunderstanding comes into play. We assign a timeline to things that just aren’t there in the scriptures. We’ll get to this later, but the entire Tower of Babel story is 9 verses long

v10
God was heard walking. He has a physical body

v13
Beguiled – deceived

v15
Enmity – The state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something
Does Satan have “seed” (posterity)?
Compare head and heel
A snake might nip at the heel, but that same foot/heel it was trying to bite is going to be the thing that crushes it

v16-17
Woman’s and Man’s curse
How is this manifest today?

v19
How did Adam and Eve feel?
See Moses 5: 10-11
Was there death before the Fall? Not as we understand it. This is one reason why many people in the Church have a hard time reconciling evolution and the Creation (evolution implies change through the generations… creatures die)
READ Joseph Fielding Smith quote about death

“Modern education declares that there never was such a thing as the fall of man, but that conditions have always gone on in the same way as now in this mortal world. Here, say they, death and mutation have always held sway as natural conditions on this earth and everywhere throughout the universe the same laws obtain. It is declared that man has made his ascent to the exalted place he now occupies through countless ages of development which has gradually distinguished him from lower forms of life.

“Such a doctrine of necessity discards the story of Adam and the Garden of Eden, which it looks upon as a myth coming down to us from an early age of foolish ignorance and superstition. Moreover, it is taught that since death was always here, and a natural condition prevailing throughout all space, there could not possibly come a redemption from Adam’s transgression, hence there was no need for a Savior for a fallen world.”

Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:315

v20
The name Eve means “living”
What do we think of Eve?

v22
Who is god speaking to? There is obviously more than one person here (plural)

Genesis Chapter 4

The Book of Moses really helps here. There is a gap here in the bible where we learn:

They are driven out

They have children

God taught them

They offered sacrifices

An angel tells them why they offer sacrifices

v2
Cain was a farmer
Abel was a shepherd

v3-5
SHOW artwork of Cain and Abel’s offerings
Cain’s offering was rejected
It came from the ground, and the ground was cursed
Abel’s offering was accepted
It was in similitude of the Only Begotten

v15
Could Cain die? Yes
Do we know what the curse/mark was? No
One thing I read suggested there was a physical feature (size perhaps) that made him look different and people left him alone

Genesis Chapter 5

Adam lived to be 930
Seth 912
Enos 905
Cainan 910
Mahalaleel 895
Jared 962
Enoch 365 – translated, see Moses 7: 69
Methuselah 969 – not taken up with Enoch so righteous patriarchal/priesthood line could continue (see Moses 8:2); died the year of the flood
Lamech 777
Noah 950

Genesis Chapter 6

v2
Sons of God married the daughters of men
What does this mean?
READ President Kimball quote about marrying people of different faiths

“Paul told the Corinthians, ‘Be ye not unequally yoked together. . . .’ Perhaps Paul wanted them to see that religious differences are fundamental differences. Religious differences imply wider areas of conflict. Church loyalties and family loyalties clash. Children’s lives are often frustrated. The nonmember may be equally brilliant, well trained and attractive, and he or she may have the most pleasing personality, but without a common faith, trouble lies ahead for the marriage. There are some exceptions but the rule is a harsh and unhappy one.

“There is no bias nor prejudice in this doctrine. It is a matter of following a certain program to reach a definite goal.”

Spencer W Kimball, Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 240

v3
My Spirit shall not always strive with man

v4
Giants?

v5
Thoughts of hearts were evil continually
Compare to King Benjamin’s people who had a desire to do good continually (see Mosiah 5: 2)

v6
It repented the Lord?
Regret, sorry
Joseph Smith said it should be translated “It repented Noah that God made man”

v8-9
First reference to Noah. Was he perfect?
Who is Noah?
Gabriel spoke to Zacharias/Elizabeth about John the Baptist being born as well as Mary about Jesus being born
He delivered keys to Joseph Smith as an Elias (a forerunner)

v14
Make an ark
The word which ark is translated from is only in the bible one other time. That is in Exodus 2: 3 (an ark of bulrushes). Means box or chest

Made of gopher/cypress wood

Had rooms

Covered with pitch (bitumen), in Genesis 11: 3 the same word was translated as slime

300 cubits long x 50 cubits wide by 30 cubits high

450ft x 75 ft x 45 ft

v17
A flood is coming

v18
God covenants with Noah

v19
Bring 2 of every kind

v21
Food storage

Genesis Chapter 7

v2
Why bring more of the clean animals? For food and sacrifices

v4
Will rain for 40 days/nights

v7
Only 8 people were righteous?
READ quote from Elder McConkie about translated beings

“During the first 2200 or so years of the earth’s history—that is, from the fall of Adam to the ministry of Melchizedek—it was a not uncommon occurrence for faithful members of the Church to be translated and taken into the heavenly realms without tasting death. Since that time there have been occasional special instances of translation, instances in which a special work of the ministry required it.

“. . . Methuselah, the son of Enoch, was not translated [with Enoch’s city], ‘that the covenants of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he made to Enoch; for he truly covenanted with Enoch that Noah should be of the fruit of his loins.’ (Moses 8:2.) But during the nearly 700 years from the translation of Enoch to the flood of Noah, it would appear that nearly all of the faithful members of the Church were translated, for ‘the Holy Ghost fell on many, and they were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion.’ (Moses 7:27.)”

Bruce R McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 804

v12
Rained for 36 hours in parts of Louisiana and some parts were several feet under water

v22
Everything not in the ark is dead

v24
After raining, it took 110 days for the waters to recede

Genesis Chapter 8

v4
Where is Mount Ararat? one book said in modern-day Armenia
SHOW map of the Old World

v8-11
Dove didn’t come back once there was dry land to live

v18
On ark for 1 year and 10 days

v20
What is the first thing that Noah did? Offered a sacrifice

Genesis Chapter 9

v6
First instance of what would become the Law of Moses

v11-17
No more killer floods
The rainbow is a sign of this promise
SHOW picture of rainbow from Pen Centre

v20
Husbandman – someone who runs a vineyard

v21
Noah got drunk?!

v25
Why was Canaan cursed?
Noah was upset that Ham hadn’t covered him up?
Was Noah cursing Canaan or was it a prophecy?

Genesis Chapter 10

More genealogy

v9
Nimrod was a bad man

v25
Peleg – How was the earth divided (physical/political)?

Genesis Chapter 11

v1
One language

v4
SHOW picture of the Tower of Babel
Note: the whole Tower of Babel story only takes 9 verses
See Book of Ether

v7
The confusion of the language didn’t happen all at once
Jared saw this happening and asked his brother to intervene